Wire or rod clamp and connector



April 15, 1941. 1 FRANK 2,238,386

WIRE OR ROD CLAMP ANDl GOHNECTOR Filed Dec. 13, 1938 7 miauw@ l2//l/E/n/rv/e ,(0 ws /CeH/V/r.

Patented Apr. 15, 1941 UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE 2,238,386 WIRE oanon CLAMP AND CONNECTOR Louisv Frank, Taft, Calif. Application December13, 1938, Serial No. 245,421 4 Claims. :(Cl. 287-115) My inventionrelates to a connector for wires, metal rods, and the like, and theprincipal object of my invention is, to provide a relatively simple,practical, and inexpensive device, that may be conveniently employed forproducing a firm and being readily manipulated when applied to the fends of wires or rods and likewise capable of being easily and quicklyreleased and removed from the wires or rods and further, to provide aconnector utilizing a lever or levers provided with heads that areeccentrically pivoted so that, when the levers are manipulated theeccentric heads will grip a wire, rod, or the like, and clamp the samesecurely against a portion of the member on which the lever is mounted.

Further objects of my invention are, to provide a wire or rod connectorthat is adapted to engage and clamp Wires or rods of different sizes andfurther, to provide the device with a xed gripping jaw having teeth thatare adapted to puncture the insulation sheath on insulated wires orrods, so as to provide electrical Contact between the clamping deviceand the wire that is connected thereto.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists incertain novel features of construction and arrangement of parts thatwill be hereinafter more fully described and claimed and illustrated inthe accompanying drawing 1n which:

Fig. l is a plan view of one form of my improved connector.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 2--2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a cross section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. l.

Fig. 5 is a plan View of a modified form of the connector.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 'l is a cross section taken on the line 'l-l of Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a horizontal section taken lengthwlse through the'xed clampingplate that forms a part of the connector illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of a further modified form of the connector.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged cross section taken onthe line lll-I0' of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a detail section illustrating the pivotal connection betweenone of thelevers of the connector and the base on which the lever ismounted.

Fig. 1.2 is a horizontal section taken on the line l2-l2 of Fig. 11.

In the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, a plate 20preferably of metal constitutes the body of the clamping device and thisplate may be located at any convenient point Where it is desired toclamp a wire or rod, or the adjacent ends of two wires or rods. of.plate 20 is formed a series of upstanding ratchet teeth 2l and, formedon one side of said plate and projecting upwardly therefrom is a shortlongitudinally disposed flange 22 that is channel-shape in cross sectionand outwardly curved lengthwise. This member 22 provides a seat for thewire or wires W that are to be clamped. A gripping head 23 iseccentrically pivoted on plate 20 directly opposite the ange 22 by meansof a pin or screw 24 and in order that said gripping head may be shiftedinto dilTerent positions for gripping wires of different sizes or forgripping two or more wires within the iiange 22, said head has twodifferent apertures 25 for the reception of the pivot pin or screw andwhich apertures are connected by a short slot 26.

Formed integral with head 23 is an arm 2l of resilient metal, the outerportion of which overlies the ratchet teeth 2l and, formed on said armis a depending tooth 28 that is adapted to engage ysaid ratchet teeth,thereby holding the varm in clamping position. When in Wire or rodclamping position, the head 23 and arm 21 occupy .the positions asillustrated in Fig. 1 with a portion of the edge of the head positionedbetween the upper inner edge of the flange 22 and the engaged wire orwires are kinked and gripped against the longitudinally curved innerface of the ange 22. The engagement of tooth 28 with one of the ratchetteeth maintains the lever and head in gripping position until the outerend of the arm is lifted to disengage tooth 28 from the ratchet toothwith which it has been engaged.

The modified construction illustrated in Figs. 5 to 8 inclusive issimilar in construction to the form of device illustrated in Figs. 1 to4 inclusive, inasmuch as it includes a base plate-20a, a ange 22asimilar to flange 22, an eccentrically pivoted On one end gripping head23a, and an arm 21a projecting from said head. In this particularconstruction, flange 22a is provided on its inner surface with aplurality of pointed projections 22h which, when an insuluated wire isclamped by the device, are adapted to puncture the insulation and makeelectrical contact with the current-carrying wire or conductor.

As illustrated in Fig. 5, the eccentric head 23a may also be provided onits gripping edge with a plurality of pointed projections 23e which,when the device is in service are adapted to puncture the insulationthat covers wires that are gripped by the clamping member, thus makingelectrical contact with the current carrying conductor.

Obviously, the pivotally mounted gripping members of any of the otherforms of the clamp and connector may be provided with pointedprojections such as 23e which function to puncture insulation and makeelectrical contact with the 'enclosed current conductor.

While I prefer to construct the various parts of my improved clamp andconnector from metal, the same may be formed from suitable insulatingmaterial or the various parts may be coated or sheathed with insulatingmaterial, thus preventing the possibility of injury as a result ofelectric shocks to the users of the clamps and connectors.

It will be understood that all forms of the clamp and connector may beconstructed so as to receive and grip the adjacent ends of two wires orrods that extend in opposite directions and that the forms of clamp andconnector illustrated in Figs. l, 5, and 9, may be utilized for clampingthe overlapping end portions of two wires or rods.

Further in this modied construction, the end of plate 20a over which theend of arm 21a projects is bent upwardly to occupy a plane slightlyabove the plane occupied by the main body of said plate 2ila asdesignated by 20h and, formed on the under side of this upwardly bentportion 20o is a series, of ratchet teeth Zilc. The outer end of arm 21ais bent downwardly and thence cent edge of the cup-shaped head 33, andbelow the ilange 34 (see Fig. 10).

Formed integral with and projecting from the flanged upper portion ofthe clamping head 33 is an arm 35 utilized in swinging the head upon itsaxis, the outer portion of which arm overlies the ratchet teeth 32 andone edge of said arm is adapted to engage in one of said ratchet teethso as to retain the head 33 in Wire or rod clamping position.

Figs. 11 and l2 show the construction of the pin or screw that providesa pivot for the eccenwardly to form a hook 2lb, the end portion of v20c, thus retaining the clamping head 23a and l its arm 21a in wire orrod clamping position.

In this form of device, the clamping head 23a may be readily moved intowire or rod clamping position by proper manipulation of the arm 21a andat the end of such movement, tooth 21C will engage one of the ratchetteeth 2te to hold the' arm and head in wire clamping position. Torelease the wire, the end of arm 27a is depressed to disengage tooth Zlcfrom the ratchet teeth and, said arm may now be swung outwardly awayfrom one side oi the plate Zila so as to disengage the edge of head 23afrom the engaged wire or rod.

In the modied construction illustrated in Figs. 9 and l0, a metal plate3U is provided on one end with a series of upturned ratchet teeth 3|and, on one side of said plate is formed an upstanding longitudinallydisposed flange 32. Ecoentrically pivoted on plate 3U immediatelyadjacent the ilange 32, is a shallow cup-shaped clamping head 33provided on its'upper edge with an outwardly presented flange 34 whichoverlies the upper edge of flange 32. Thus when arwire or wires areengaged by th-e clamping device, they occupy the space between theupturned flange 32, the adjatric head of the wire gripping device andwhich screw and head are constructed so that the axis of movement of thehead may be shifted slightly to accommodate Wires. of diilerent sizesor, where two or more wires are gripped and clamped by the same head.

Formed in the gripping head 36 immediately adjacent each other areapertures 3l that are vunited byr a short slot 38, the Width of whichslot is less than the diameters of the apertures 31. The shank of thepivot pin or screw 39 immediately beneath the head is provided with anarrow neck portion 40 that is adapted to occupy either one of theapertures 3l and which will pass through the slot 38 when the head isrotated to proper position, thus enabling the head to be shiftedrelative to the pin or screw so as to shift the axis of movement of saidhead.

In those forms of clamping devices wherein the arms that project fromthe clamping heads are provided with teeth for engaging ratchet teeth onthe plates or bodies of the devices, the ratchet teeth may be spacedpre-determined distances apart and which spacing corresponds withdifferent sized wires that are clamped by the device. v

A particular desirable feature of my invention.

Further, certain forms of the device and particularly those utilizing aneccentrically mounted gripping head that `co-operates with a i'lxed angeor the like, may be advantageously employed for connecting two or morewires or rods. Thus it will be seen that I have provided a wire or rodclamp and connector that is relatively simple in construction,inexpensive of manufacture, and very eiective in performing'thefunctions for which it is intended.

It will be understood that minor changes in the size, form andconstruction of the various parts of my improved wire or rod clamp andconnector, may be made and substituted for those herein shown anddescribed, Without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scopeof which is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a wire or rod clamp and connector, a plate, an upstandinglongitudinally curved flange on one side of said plate, a clampinghead,means for eccentrically and adjustably mounting said head on said plateadjacent said flange so as to engage and clamp a wire against saidcurvedflange, an `arm formed integral'with said clamping head and aseries of ratchet teeth formed on said plate with which the free end ofsaid arm is adapted to engage.

42. In a wireor rodclanip` and connector as set forth in claim 1 andwith `a plurality of pointed projections!on'theinner side of saidilange.

3. In a wire or rod clamp and connector as set forth in claim 1 andwhich flange is curved longitudinally and channel-shape in crosssection.

4. In a, Wire or rod clamp and connector, aI

base, a flange formed on the side of said base, a v

clamping head having an adjustable pivot on said base and {zo-operatingmeans comprising a series l of ratchet teeth on said base and a tooth onsaid head for holding said head in Wire or rod ciamping position.

LOUIS FRANK.

